Dr Cara Waters

Still the Only Woman in the Room: A Physicist’s Perspective on International Women’s Day | Cara Waters A physicist reflects on everyday bias in physics and why culture in science still matters for the next generation.

Or here! caralwaters.com/2026-03-08-i...

Still the Only Woman in the Room: A Physicist’s Perspective on International Women’s Day A student once asked me a question during a seminar about the solar wind. We were looking at particle velocity distributions measured by…

I wrote a short piece for International Women’s Day reflecting on my experiences as a woman in physics.
It starts with a moment from teaching about solar wind particle distributions, but it’s really about something much broader.
If you're interested, you can read it here:

medium.com/@CaraLWaters...

I, along with many other UKRI, STFC and RS fellows are signing this open letter on the STFC cuts. The proposed reductions will devastate UK astronomy and the researchers who make it possible. Please read, share, and, if a fellow, sign.

advancedfellows-openletter-stfc.github.io/index.html

#astro

I'm a Dr in physics, but in the UK...

📣Many researchers are facing the same reality: contracts ending, careers cut short, talent lost. 👥📉

UKRI needs to change course — now. 🧪🔭⚗️

If you’re affected, post your own photo and share this message. Visibility matters.

#stfc #ukri #saveSTFC

In less stressful news, Munch has been enjoying using my foot as a paw rest while he naps

This open letter from early career researchers across STFC has now been sent to the intended recipients! ecr-openletter-stfc.github.io/index.html

The future of fundamental research in the UK now stands with UKRI and their potential to make a change to their strategy.

#stfc #ukri #saveSTFC

Ginger and white fluffy cat sat in a hammock attached to a bay window looking to one side.

Happy #caturday !

You know who”stayed a little back” in VIetnam? DJT.

This is actually incredible - I wanted to figure out making something similar for a whole solar cycle but am yet to work out the logistics!

Space science cannot be isolated from the political conditions which sustain it - or undermine it.

Space science looks outward, but it is inseparable from how we choose to govern knowledge here on Earth. The values that shape science policy ultimately shape science itself.

International collaboration in space is only meaningful when it is grounded in shared respect for scientific integrity, environmental responsibility, and the communities affected by both launch and downstream impacts. Without that, collaboration risks becoming symbolic rather than substantive.

Long-term missions require institutional stability, respect for expertise, and a sustained commitment to evidence over ideology. When science funding becomes contingent on political alignment, or when scientific results are selectively valued or ignored, these programmes are weakened.

The contradiction is especially stark in space and climate science. Satellites are essential for monitoring Earth’s climate, space weather, and planetary environments, yet the same political environments that rely on these measurements increasingly undermine or dismiss the conclusions they enable.

Decisions about which missions are flown and funding directly reflect values as much as curiosity.

Space science is often presented as politically neutral or inherently cooperative - a domain where international science transcends terrestrial politics. In reality, it is deeply shaped by national priorities, funding volatility, and strategic interests.

Being explicit about this feels necessary.

For that reason, I will not be travelling to or working in the United States for the foreseeable future. This is not a judgement of individual colleagues, many of whom I respect greatly, but a refusal to normalise systems and polices that undermine the conditions science requires to function.

Science does not exist in a vacuum. Funding choices are political. Silence is political. At some point, continuing as normal becomes a decision in itself.

International science depends on trust, shared values, and a basic commitment to evidence and responsibility. When those foundations are treated as optional, collaboration becomes performative rather than meaningful.

Cuts to research funding and the increasing politicisation of basic science are happening in parallel with a disregard for climate reality and international norms - Greenland being just one example.

Over recent years there has been a clear erosion of respect for scientific expertise, academic freedom, and evidence-based decision making.

Scientists are often encouraged to remain “neutral” on social and political issues as if the conditions under which science is conducted, funded, and applied are somehow separate from politics and the state of the world around us. They aren’t.

Copenhagen town hall square, Denmark right now.

Massive solidarity with Greenland demonstrations.

Source: dr.dk

it’s tiiiiime 🎄

Congrats!

From someone who just completed theirs - it’s more fun than you think and more underwhelming than you think it will be! You’ll do fine!

We have a PhD opportunity at the University of Reading focused on analysing Jupiter and Saturn auroral observations!

Title: Investigating Earth-like responses to the Solar Wind in Gas Giant Upper Atmospheres

Supervisor: me!

Full description/application portal:
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Catch the name change after Wednesday 👀

doodle of a cat inside an olive

🫒